I'm not trying to dissuade you from your choice of the Bedford Marble Corian. I am in the process of getting Witch Hazel for my new kitchen so I love Corian but...I just wanted to be sure your KD told you or otherwise in your research you learned that the darker colors of Corian show scratches much worse than the lighter colors. They show as white scratches on the dark surface. Yes they can be buffed out and the surface can be refinished like new but until then...well, they're gonna show. I almost went with the Bedford Marble until I read here on GW about how it shows the scratches. If you were aware of that already then just disregard what I said!!

I did not know that. dcward89, thanks for bringing it to my attention. I will have to think about it carefully (and quickly!) I am pretty sure I want to do a dark counter on light cabs, and do not want cold, hard stone, so my choices are limited. I guess there is always laminate.

I never marked up my laminate counters that bad...will this fact serve as reassurance that the Corian will do alright for me?

Did you get a sample of the Bedford Marble? I got one of the little 2x2 samples from Home Depot and I ordered a larger one, 10x10 I think, directly from Corian. I have also always lived with laminate counters and they still looked good but I did not like how the scratches looked in the dark Corian. We purposely scratched it with a steak knife just to see what it would look like and then tried to use a green Scotchbrite scrubby to "buff" out the scratch. It lessened the look but it was still there. I call my husband a "big galoot" and I know he would end up scratching it somehow and I couldn't stand the thought of paying all that money for my beautiful new countertop and then seeing scratches on it.

I know the witch hazel will scratch just as easily but we put the witch hazel sample through the same tests as the Bedford Marble and you had to pick it up and hold it at a very specific angle to see the scratches and they buffed out perfectly.

We also don't like the cold, hard feel of granite or marble.

I have a small 2x2 sample, I guess I could take a knife to it. Now I am torn and am re-thinking my whole plan. :o( I like too many things....

I'm sorry greenhaven...didn't mean to make things more confusing!! It was such a process choosing all the finishes in our kitchen and now that the choices are made, ordered and in many cases paid for, I m still second-guessing myself.

Try googling something like "gardenweb dark Corian". It should bring up lots of threads where this has been discussed. Better to be informed than to be surprised after all is said and done.

You are absolutely right, knowledge is power.

If you really agree with your KD, then your decision is made. If you think you might not, go to houzz and search "dark island light perimeter", or something of the like. You'll find lots of pics with two different cab colors and two different countertops. I've heard it breaks the "rules", but I think it can be done nicely. I did it myself:

I disagree with the premise that something between the perimeter and the island must be the same. I think a completely different color and counter can look like the island is a separate piece of furniture. And I like that look. If you want them to match in some way, that's all good too of course.

Are you adding cabinets to your island or moving it closer to the stove? I was just noticing that if you could turn the island around, you should be able to add 12" deep cabinets on the stove side, giving you prep space within reach of the stove and getting you out of that corner. Or you could add open shelves. Then you just panel the sides. Was that suggested in your other thread?

oh thank you for all your responses. It really gives me a little more confidence and no, in my heart I9 do not agree with the KD but am not a pro.

mayflowers, the plan is definitely to move the island closer to the stove and hoping it is set on top of the flooring. If I add a set of 12 deep cabs to it you think there is still room for a baby overhang, question mark. 9 fn button not working0 It would be for casual and occasional seating only.

The reason I thought of adding cabinets instead of moving the island was in case your floor didn't go underneath or if the exposed part had faded, forcing you to refinish. But then I realized it didn't matter if you moved the island and added to the back because the 12" cabs will cover the exposed floor anyway.Trying to multi-task and not thinking it through! Sorry!

It actually makes more sense to move the island, keep the drawers on the stove side, and add cabinets to the back. Then you need a 12" overhang for seating. Can your island handle 24" more inches once it's moved?

Okay, gotcha, I think I get it! So you were saying if the floor is faded (cheap laminate, so no idea) flip the island around in its same footprint THEN add two cabs on the stove side.

That is a thought, and it will depend on the floor. Still not sure if it even goes under the island cabs, although i suspect it will.

MAJOR update, however! I went back to see the KD at HD, she actually has a bachelor's in Interior Design. I was just having an AWFUL time trying to create a kitchen that appealed to both my warm side and my cool side, and we decided that the Bedford marble was not going to give me anything but cool.

Sooo.......we chose a quartz together, instead! I swore I was not going to do stone, but the piece she picked out (Antella by Viatera) is so amazing in the subtle color tones in it. We picked an amazing color palette so cabs and trim will be BM White Dove, the island will be painted either BM Smoke Embers or BM Baltic Gray, but probably the lighter, and the wall color will be BM Cedar Key or a shade darker.

{{!gwi}}

I am not going to post a photo of the quartz because photos do it no justice at all!

To top it all off, I stopped in at the local art tile place even though i was planning on beadboard backsplash and found a tile and accent that blew me away and totally "finished" a kitchen design that I didn't even see coming! I am pretty sure I am using Silver Shadows honed marble with a wicked cool accent mosaic from Bati Orient. It is technically way out of my style but I am soooo in love with it and it adds the perfect amount of bling to an otherwise bland-ish kitchen and the colors match PERFECTLY with my palette, tiles and counter. Picture does not do it much justice.

{{!gwi}}

So, that was my little surprise for the day, starting it with one kitchen and ending up in a totally different one and LOVING it! My angst is all gone. Cannot wait to get this finished and share some pics!